Claiming Human Rights - in Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. It has ratified many UN Human Rights Conventions (compare list on the right) and thus has made binding international commitments to adhere to the standards laid down in these universal human rights documents.

Malawi is an English- and Chichewa-speaking country in Southeast Africa. It is a landlocked, middle-sized country with an area of 118,484 square km. On a global scale, its population density is high. The capital of the country, which became independent on 6 July 1964 from the United Kingdom, is Lilongwe. Malawi is a member of the regional economic communities SADC and COMESA.

With a Human Development Index of 0.49 Malawi ranks 160th of 182 countries ranked in the UNDP Human Development Report of 2009. Life expectancy of the 14.3 million inhabitants at birth is 48 years, population growth is 2.5 percent per year. GNI is 290 US-$ per capita. External debt is 24.6 percent of gross national income. Primary school enrolment is 87.0 percent.

In as far as Malawi has ratified the Optional Protocols for UN Human Rights Conventions or has accepted the Competence of the corresponding UN Treaty Bodies (compare list on the right), the inhabitants of Malawi and their representatives are able to invoke their human rights through these bodies.

All inhabitants of Malawi may turn to the UN Human Rights Committee through procedure 1503, to the Special Rapporteurs for violations of specific human rights or to ECOSOC for women's rights violations.

Since Malawi is a member state of UNESCO, its citizens may use the UNESCO procedure for human rights violations in UNESCO's fields of mandate.

Employers' or workers' and certain other organizations (not individuals) of Malawi may file complaints through the ILO procedure in the cases of those conventions which Malawi has ratified.